Aral Balkan

<rant>

Dear Apple,

I have a Macbook Pro. It's your hardware. Unmodified. As shipped from your factory. I also recently bought your operating system upgrade for OS X Leopard. The only problem is that since I upgraded to Leopard, I can't use my keyboard without it freezing every few minutes.

Yeah, that does suck. In fact, it sucks huge hairy elephant balls.

See, this other company, Microsoft, they got the whole keyboard thing working without a hitch in, oh, what was it? Version 1?

You see, Apple, keyboards are important things. They're usually the primary means by which we provide input to our computers. In fact, I'm trying to use one right now -- quite unsuccessfully, I might add -- to write this blog post.

You remember those arrogant "I'm a Mac" ads that tout how reliable Macs are when compared to PCs? (And they truly were with Tiger.) I used to chuckle at them as I remembered what hell my life was under Windows before I switched last year. The only problem is that since I upgraded to Leopard, the ads seem further and further removed from reality. I kind of miss how I never had to worry about my keyboard freezing up in the 23 years that I used Windows. I'm beginning to eye those shiny new Vaios with envy again.

What the fuck is wrong with you Apple? You haven't even publicly acknowledged this issue and it has been reported to you over a hundred times on your own support forums for the past month.

Here's the Apple ad that Microsoft should make ASAP:

Mac: Hi, I'm a ................ PC (grinning): Mac?.. Mac?.. I think his keyboard's frozen again. But have you seen his shiny new 3D dock? Ooh-la-la!

Apple, do you have any idea how incompetent this makes you look?

Most importantly, the first thing you need to do is to officially acknowledge that the problem exists.

Yes, bugs are a fact of life in our industry but it is also common practice to _acknowledge and fix them_.

Next, state that you are working 24/7 on isolating it and finding a fix for it. Tell us you're aware of the problem and working on it. Heck, say you understand. While you're at it, you might even apologize to the hundreds (thousands?) of people who are losing their productivity due to this unbelievable bug.

And scrap your arrogant ads, you don't deserve them anymore. Maybe snack on humble pie for the next year or so until you get Leopard as stable as Tiger was.

Leopard just works? My ass! Tiger just worked. Not Leopard.

(Do I seem _really_ annoyed? Maybe it's because my keyboard has frozen about a dozen times so far in writing this blog post.)

I'm just one previously enthusiastic Apple user who is getting ever more annoyed and disenchanted with Apple. Something tells me that I'm not the only one. Here's a quote from one of the frustrated MacBook Pro owners on Apple's support forums:

Sadly, I am writing this from my Dell. I can't stand using the MBP at this point. How could they let a bug like this get out? At my company, a team would be working 24/7 to fix a problem like this. Do you want to begin to quantify how much this could cost Apple in the long run? Every day without a fix is another level reached in my anger and I assume there are thousands of others like me. I have two friends who are also having the problem now. One MPB from Fall '06 and one MPB from last week! Mine is from early October. I will not be buying Leopard for my fiancee's (fall 06) MacBook Pro this Christmas!

Oh and if any you should come by the cafe I'm in the next few minutes, I'll be the one with the shiny Macbook Pro frantically tapping his Num Lock key to see if his keyboard is back so he can continue working.

Un-fuckin'-believable.

Thanks a whole bunch, Apple! I'm off to restart my computer and (hopefully) get my keyboard back so I can do some work instead of bitching about my computer not working.

</rant off>

Links:

• Thread on Apple's support forums with over 100 people reporting this issue
• A different thread on Apple's support forums on the same subject.
• Thread on Apple Insider on the same issue
• Leopard is the New Vista, and It's Pissing Me Off (PC Magazine)

Comments

• My mouse and keyboard froze on Vista when it woke from sleep, I would literally shake the mouse it would bring up the login in screen and then freeze. So MS hasn't got the whole keyboard thing under control either ... it was amongst several reasons why I rolled the work station back to XP. One thing I'm finding really annoying is my macbook with leopard is sleep aswell, it works like 60% of the time. Some times it just shuts it sell off, other times it keeps periodically waking up and draining the battery. Im really hanging on the updates, I much prefer leopard to tiger but boy its still got issues.

  by Ruffus on 2007-12-11 10:05:44

• This happened to me also on a brand new Macbook Pro. I bought it to switch to mac, and the only way I could get the keyboard to work was to install Vista on it! Now it's a shiny new vista machine. .. now, if only I could find a way to print-screen...

  by Dan on 2007-12-16 09:54:27

• I just started having this problem yesterday, about 3 weeks after installing Leopard on my 1st gen MB. The problem seems to happen when I open a new screen or tab in Safari, though I haven't tried other programs yet. It does not seem to be time-based as much as use-based. In other words, the KB doesn't freeze for x number of seconds... it seems to freeze for X number of keyboard strokes. Holding down a letter key for about 3-4 seconds seems to fill up the buffer of whatever is going wrong, and then I get my keyboard back. What a pain... but I still wouldn't go back to Win.

  by steve on 2007-12-17 20:11:44

• Just add me to the apparently growing list of disappointed Mac owners. I purchased not one, but two Macbooks two weeks ago, and both have intermittant keyboard freezing problems. The salesman tells me, yeah, he's been reading about that. (No kidding?) Probably an operating system bug, and they'll "probably" come out with a patch. "Pretty soon." In the midst of all the recent Mac hype, I feel like a real sucker. Well, me, I would go back to Windows, if I could afford to.

  by Roy D. on 2007-12-17 20:41:26

• I just got a $2500 mac book pro for filmschool that I started 3 weeks ago. This is the first time i really used a mac. Apple sent some dude to the school to show us what Leopard could do, and I was really into it. Since then, I really started to think that macs were ok to use...until this! If I use the touch pad at all, my keyboard locks up. I have to finish typing a lab thats due at 9 am, and its 1:30am. I am soooo pissed with mac right now that I will never buy another mac nor recommend mac to anyone! Is this what they have to offer a first time user, anger and frustration? Way to show users that your reliable. They say these pieces of shit they call computers are better for video editing! My ass! A PC can work just as good IF NOT BETTER!!!! Hey I got a good one for your commercials! "Can you type to me now......good!"

  by Kyle Hunter on 2007-12-19 06:41:17

• On my Vista box I had a problem with a USB2 external drive - it kept mounting and un-mounting at regular intervals (2000ms) - thus swapping focus to the desktop and to the application. Next time you get this mad, send me your Macbook Pro and/or copy of Leopard and I'll send you the pennies you think they are worth for your trouble ;)

  by eric dolecki on 2007-12-09 17:22:01

• Hi Aral, Sorry to hear about your problems with you keyboard. I own a macbook (not a pro) and don't have any problem what so ever.... Maybe this is something for you :) Kind regards, Jankees

  by jankees on 2007-12-09 16:53:47

• I've been having similar problems with my new MacBook and I'm seriously considering getting my money back and reverting to my trusty ibook.

  by Alex on 2007-12-09 17:05:35

• I've only had this happen once and it was fustrating. I imagine, if it happened everyday, I suppose I'd be included to write a post such as this ... I can't be sure it was the same problem you are encountering, but maddening nevertheless. Apple should send you a brand new machine and with Tiger preinstalled.

  by Scott Janousek on 2007-12-09 17:06:51

• My MacBook Pro is running fine. Sorry to hear you have a keyboard problem.

  by Rob on 2007-12-09 22:12:13

• I'm with you I have had a ton of issue with my macbook pros keyboard locking up to!

  by corban on 2007-12-10 02:13:50

• Dude, I've been dis-illusioned with Apple for a couple of years now ... I've always used a mac but since Apple went all arrogant about what it allows me to play on iTunes and Front Row and since it decided to stop letting me download photos off my 'old' Canon EOS and since it decided not to even acknowledge the movie files off my JVC HDD camera and when Firefox started crashing all the time and native Apple apps started running really slowly ... well, for a while now ... I've not been impressed. It seems Apple is concentrating all its effort on IPods. And lets face it ... Flash runs like a turd on a mac ... always has. my VAIO is great ... even running Vista. it may not be 'cool' but it works.

  by lee probert on 2007-12-10 10:22:39

• Hi Ben, None taken! :) But I don't really buy the "you shouldn't upgrade" line. Not when the advertising says "Leopard just works". I mean, I know this is an issue with Windows and it's fair enough because Windows doesn't have a clue what hardware it is going to run on and they can't possibly test with every combination of hardware that the user may have in their PC. But OS X? It only runs on a very limited set of hardware that is dictated by Apple. If they can't the keyboard working on a stock Macbook Pro... well, it just looks bad. As I mentioned in my post, I know that software contains bugs. But a software company should _acknowledge_ bugs and communicate with their user base. Not stay silent. Especially with a bug that is as debilitating as this one. I'd love to be sure that they are working on the problem and I know they aren't perfect: I just want them to acknowledge the issue and communicate their intent. I don't think that's too much to ask for. Take care have a great week too! :)

  by Aral on 2007-12-10 12:44:36

• Last night, soon after reading your entry my keyboard began having the same problem :(

  by Mark on 2007-12-10 16:27:26

• What a pleasant surprise to find out I am not the only one out there who is losing the plot with Apple. I am on my 3rd Macbook Pro, and now it looks like it's gonna be a 4th. First one had a faulty logic board, the second a faulty airport card, this one I just don't know anymore. I turned the MBP on this morning and my CAPS was reversed, keyboard did not work and iTunes will not open if there is anything plugged in to the USB. The battery never shows more than 95% charge and depletes at a rate of 5%- 8% per ten minutes. Mixed feelings from Tech support on this, some of them think that it's o.k to sell notebooks that do not perform to tech specs, others agree that there is something wrong. However try talking to the same guy there twice, every one of those knobs has their own take on things and want to try clean installs and archive installs, I have done more bloody installations of an OS in the past 3 months than I ever done in 14 years as a PC user. With no result, just mental torture. Oh and going without a computer for 3 weeks at a time.

  by Lukey112 on 2008-01-08 10:04:27

• I guess I'm lucky too. Installed Leopard the first week it was out and haven't had any problems whatsoever.

  by Keith Peters on 2007-12-09 17:37:48

• You are not alone! My wife's G5 running Tiger freezes up 2-3 times a day while my Vista PC is running stable like a rock. We cannot find the source of the problem. Have you ever considered bringing the Macbook to Apple's customer service? Maybe it's a Monday model?! ;)

  by sascha/hdrs on 2007-12-09 17:46:18

• I've had this problem consistently after waking up my MacBook from sleeping. I noticed that restarting completely seems to fix it, but it's still ridiculous that I'd have to do that every time I close the lid! I agree with Aral that it's completely bad PR for everyone that has recently jumped on the Apple bandwagon.

  by Tim Robles on 2007-12-09 20:28:43

• I told the Mac users at work, and I tell you now. I'm still waiting for Adobe to acknowledge that Linux just might be ready as a production environment. After this (and I've read about Leopard dramas on several sites), Adobe only needs to start releasing their production software on Linux, and I kinda see Apple doomed to making cute lil' iPods. Good luck with the vendor lock-in, as I understand a downgrade is too much to ask from Apple...

  by Darius on 2007-12-09 20:31:02

• I guess my Macbook Pro was lucky too. I'm usually on an external keyboard, but I've also worked for hours on the internal one and never encountered a problem. Instead of ripping on Vista and it's downgrade option (!) they should at least acknowledge this huge bug!

  by Michiel van der Ros on 2007-12-09 21:32:52

• Aral, no offence but: - You are a professional user, and as such you shouldnt upgrade the first months a new OS comes out. We are upgrading in march/april after the update of the adobe suite has been out in the wild for a few months, and after 6 months of a new iteration of a OS. - Every software contains bugs, you as a dev know that. - I am pretty sure they working on the problem. - No apple isnt perfekt. Have a great week. Ben

  by Ben on 2007-12-10 10:29:34

• I do think too that leopard was a bit rushed, and i too ( even thou if i am not using it ) would have loved if they spend more time quasching bugs. Even if it would have taked months longer to release leopard. I too am just delighted about the stability of tiger ( after years of bad windows experience ), and really really hope that leo will be as stable as tiger was. I also think it is also a very annoying bug ( had a similar experience with a broken keyboard once. I just dont think that the annoyance is comparable to something like this experienced ( vista & os x runing on same hardware ) which is congruent with mine ( as a former windows fanboi ). http://www.adobeforums.com/webx?14@@.3c052831/12 About apple being open, that would be a nice wish but well, perhaps in a few years. :-D Good luck, i hope they'll fix it soon.

  by Ben on 2007-12-10 14:01:41

• My keyboard stops functioning whenever my MBP goes to deep sleep or after I detach external peripherals. Actually, it happens before leopard. If I attached an external projector, my keyboard would freeze up after I detached it; same with digital camera and external USB drive. With external USB drive, if I leave it on there and then the machine and the drive go to sleep, I would lose the keyboard after I wake up the machine. This has got to be so bad that I don't use my MBP for presentation anymore.

  by Witty on 2007-12-10 17:03:20

• Sorry to hear some of you have problems. My MBP has been amazing since the day I got it and my Apple BT Keyboard always works great until I run out of batteries. To me Leopard has been godsend as it fixed a lot of issues with Samba. When I went from my G5 Tower to my MBP, connection to my server (yes it is windows) took forever and problems always occurred unlike my G5 (not intel). When I upgraded, the only issue I complained about was fixed, THANK YOU APPLE! Now my connections are blazing fast and even though I could care less about the 3D dock, I believe this version has been a major improvement.

  by Giancarlo Gomez on 2007-12-10 17:55:37

• This is classic! http://swxruby.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/picture-1.png

  by meekish on 2007-12-10 22:24:50

• My keyboard issues started as soon as I put leopard in my new iMac. Stupid me, I chose the new iMac with Tiger, and opted to pay $10.00 for the Leopard upgrade. Slow keys drive me nuts, can't write emails, can't draft legal docs, can't post on message boards--just insane. I called Apple 4 times since the imac was new, on the third try (first two had me reinstall Leopard said 99.9 percent of the time the bug goes away. No luck on the third try, in fact after being on hold for 38 minutes I finally got a technician, she didn't understand my name so I said it s-l-o-w-l-y and she hung up on me. Waited another 43 minutes and was told I need a new keyboard, got transferred waited 18 more minutes and hung up on. I was so mad I went back to Tiger....but, after the new year I had hoped the fix for the macbook keyboard issue would the imac, reinstalled Leopard and DAMN back to slow_joe keyboard again. If this isn't fixed by the end of the month I will AGAIN return to Tiger..not worth bells and whistles to try and get my work done. Oh I forgot to b*tch about the iSight camera that wont go on for iChat because it thinks another application is using it.

  by Moira on 2008-01-10 22:18:11

• Hi, I did an upgrade install and my keyboard is locked. Tried rebooting a number of times, reinstalling Leopard and booting from the Leopard DVD, no luck! Various forums say Apple has released a patch. But if I cant log in...!! Is there any way I can avoid losing all my data (with a Tiger reinstall)?? Thanks DD

  by DD on 2008-02-26 13:23:40

• Hey, Own a macbook pro. Have the same problem except I lose both the keyboard and mouse. Sweet! Usually a reboot will let me use it again but now every time I reboot neither of them will work. Every time I lose my keyboard and mouse the bluetooth wireless mouse finder pops up looking for a mouse. It doesn't find one because I don't have one. Maybe I should get one. Maybe this is Apple's way of pushing their bluetooth mouse on people (I know it isn't but it would be funny to think). What is funny though is that i'm using my macbook right now... Thankfully I installed windows xp on it. Thank you boot camp.

  by Mark on 2008-03-15 00:25:52

• dude, i feel yo, man, i have a MB, and the crap only works if you take the battery out after every typed letter, and by the time i finished this comment, my bottom art of the laptops all scratched up with fucking coin marks, jeez...my god, but hey...i think i spotted the problem if you go under the library, enable hidden files and look under the y system files, you cansee the input generator thingy...you open the RTF file which is hdden, and it has this whole iput shit, well, its liek the debug thingy, there is this gay ass boolean, loads of binar crap, but at the brackets, you can see the x data files, change the 0 to 1, should work bro....

  by Anny on 2008-03-02 14:52:46

• I bought my MacBook Pro as soon as Leopard was released (end of November). And now I'm already starting to regret buying my MacBook Pro. I had problems with Leopard and the "b" key on the keyboard is intermittently not working or I have to push really hard for it to work. I should have bought the EEE PC which costs only about $400!

  by Hani on 2008-03-02 20:49:32

• Hi Andy, The Mac is a wonderful computing platform. Please don't let this post put you off of getting one. It's not perfect (but what is?) Apple has its share of hardware issues and I don't believe that Leopard is up to Tiger's standards but it is getting better all the time. My personal experience after moving to a Mac has been great. I can't see myself going back to Windows unless it's re-written properly from the ground up :)

  by Aral on 2008-03-03 08:58:27

• Yeahhhh that problem is occurring with me too, if i dont type for 10 secs it freezes... if i iwant to type again, i have to wait 20 secs after hiting the key before it starts working again. its, KINDA really annoying, and this isnt my only error after installing leopard, also the ichat problems are kinda annoying, but arent happening as much now as it did the other day... my yahoo messenger doesnt open anymore, either does google earth, im not sure if this has to do with installing leopard. anyway as you know, your not alone man! Scott

  by Scott Prian on 2008-01-03 21:31:47

• I've been on the fence on whether or not to switch to a mac or not. I love my Iphone, but it would be really hard to give up all the great free software that the windows platform has to offer... hmmm, what to do what to do :S

  by Andy on 2008-03-03 00:01:38

• Hey, I just got a MacBook Pro about a week ago, and yesterday the whole keyboard stopped working except for the arrow keys and Function keys. I bought it so I can use it at work and home, but now I have to lug around a big USB keyboard. I don't know if some setting is turned on or off, but windows is really lookin good right now

  by SF on 2008-06-04 04:20:21

• I have a G5 powermac the keyboard and or mouse randomly lock and the whole machine crashes if I plug the keyboard or mouse into my Formac monitor. Also the finder hangs and the mac crashes when I copy files to or from my Lacie USB Disk. It also asks if I really want to shut down down sometimes - just as if I have selected the sleep option. All these things especially the crash logs point at USB problems. My Mac even crashed while installing leopard the first time. It really does my head in that Apple can not write a reliable USB driver for the hardware that they designed themselves.

  by alban on 2008-04-06 20:48:23

• I am having the same problem since today. And I am in the middle of northern Thailand and had to buy a fucking USB Thai keyboard. This is helping right now.... but sucks a lot! Regards, Robert

  by Robert on 2008-09-07 16:52:35

• Hi, I have a brand new MacBook Pro i5 with Snow Leopard! I have the same problem - both my keyboard and mouse stop responding for a while every now and then. Also sometimes they don't come back at all...so I have to reboot/shut down to fix it, only to get it back. I am not sure but I have the feeling I am getting this since I have installed some crappy drivers for Omnikey cardman 6121 - This is a smartcard reader for my electronic signature... I also installed a bunch of other software, so I am not sure whether this from it or comes 'naturally' with the MacBook. Now that I read all these comments I think it is not from the software I installed but rather a feature of Mac! - I am very disappointed with that!

  by Sasho on 2010-05-23 07:38:10